5 Amazing Vegan Chocolate Delights for Valentine's Day

(Update #1: I'm publishing this in honor of one of my short stories, "Wolfcall's Children," appearing in the 2022 Los Angeles NaNoWriMo Anthology, Alien Gaze, which you can now buy at Amazon.com.)

(Update #2: I wrote this before the article about lead and cadmium in chocolate appeared in the December 2022 issue of Consumer Reports, which has certainly put a damper on my enthusaism for dark chocolate and inspired me to search for uncontaminated brands. I'm also hoping that the companies listed in their article will do more to mitigate or better yet, eliminate, the heavy metals currently and allegedly present in their dark chocolate.)

I'm a chocoholic, a trait I inherited from my dear Grammy Belle. She loved chocolate, specifically See's. But as most of you know or will soon learn, See's doesn't make vegan chocolates. As an ethical vegan, I haven't set foot in a See's Candy shop in more than 20 years. (They do, according to their website, sell dairy-free and egg-free candy, but they don't identify any of their products as vegan. And every chocolate product I clicked on listed milk as one of the ingredients, even their dark chocolate candies.)

Vegans do not have to give up chocolate! Yes, it's true. If you're vegan you can enjoy the most delicious chocolate ever, and much of it is organic, fair trade, and great for the environment. Although it might be a tad more expensive than your ordinary, banal chocolate bar, these products more than surpass the chocolate bars of your childhood in taste, quality, and health benefits, especially if you choose a dark chocolate low in sugar and added fat.

Here are five of my most favorite chocolate products, just in time for Valentine's Day. But of course, you can enjoy these any day of the year.

1. Enjoy Life

Enjoy Life makes THE best baking chocolate, as far as I'm concerned. I use their chocolate chips and chunks to bake all sorts of amazing vegan treats. I also like to snack on these sweet babies. They are known for their allergen and gluten-free products, so that's a plus if you're making treats for Halloween and want to avoid allergens such as nuts and dairy and gluten. Enjoy Life also makes cookies, chocolate bars, and other snack products, some of which may not be vegan, so don't forget to read the label.

2. Hu Chocolate

I discovered this amazing chocolate at a Sprouts market this past summer, and wow, was I amazed. I've been searching for a sugar-free, naturally sweetened vegan chocolate for years, and their date-sweetened chocolate chips will not disappoint. They also make Hu Chocolate Gems, which have only three ingredients: organic cacao, organic unrefined coconut sugar, and organic fair-trade cocoa butter, according to the product's website. They are a bit pricey but I'd rather have these tucked into my desk at work as as snack than any other chocolate because they're not overly sweet and seem impervious to melting, too, even though they sat in my hot car on my drive to work last week. But if you're vegan, make sure you purchase their vegan products, which are clearly marked on the package.

3. Chocolove Chocolate Bars

These delicious chocolate bars melt in your mouth and have a full chocolately taste. The crystalized ginger chocolate bar is my favorite, pairing two of my favorite flavors into bite after bite of pure pleasure. I also like the other dark chocolate flavors, too, especially the orange peel in dark chocolate bar. Not all their products are vegan, so make sure you only buy the ones that say, "No dairy, eggs, or cholesterol" on the label. They also have some information on their FAQ page about which products are vegan. However, they don't specifically say they are vegan, but they do say they take precautions so that their milk and dark chocolates don't mix. Plus, they use either cane or beet sugar and don't say if their sugar is vegan or not. (I tried calling them but they had already closed for the weekend, so I'm going to follow up with them later to see how their sugar is sourced and if it filtered through bone char.) They are made in a facility that processes these products as well as gluten and nuts, so if you have allergies, you're probably going to want to stick to the Enjoy Life brand. They also tend to be a little less pricy than the other brands and more widely available, too. 

4. No Whey

I first experienced Choco No No's at a healthy lifestyle expo years ago and literally sat and ate as much sample product as I could get the rest of the day, which I've since made up for by purchasing their products for holidays such as Halloween and Valentine's Day ever since. First of all, I hadn't eaten an M&M in almost 20 years and could never find a decent vegan replacement until the moment I sampled their Choco No No's. They make other amazing vegan, KOSHER chocolate products for the holidays and year-round, too. 

5. Go Max Go Foods 

If you crave any of those historically "famous" candy bars filled with caramelly nougat, coconut and almonds, or peanut butter covered with chocolate, than Go Max Go candy bars will amaze you. Not only are all their products vegan, but they're are GMO-free, their cocoa is fair trade, and their palm oil is ethically sourced, according to their website. My favorites are the Mahalo and Twilight bars, but they have many others that might remind you of some of your childhood favorites without harming any animals or the environment.

I hope you enjoy this "sweet" review. If I missed one of your favorite vegan chocolate bars or candies, let me know., and I'll be more than happy to try it out and review it here. Wishing all of you a wonderfully romantic and vegan Valentine's Day.